LONDON (AP) – British Health Secretary Matt Hancock attended a doctor’s office in London this week to highlight the start of coronavirus vaccinations by local general practitioners.
There was only one problem: there was no vaccine. He didn’t make it in time for the Hancock press event.
It was an embarrassing moment for the UK’s top health authority and a reminder of the challenges Britain faces as it runs to vaccinate some 15 million people by mid-February.
GPs like Dr. Ammara Hughes are crucial to the National Health Service’s plan to expand vaccination from hospitals and clinics to doctors’ offices across the country.
“It’s just more frustrating than a concern,” said Dr. Hughes to Sky News. “If we had a regular supply, we would be able to vaccinate 3,000 to 4,000 patients a week … which would ease the pressure on the health service and we could vaccinate more and more people quickly and hopefully get out of the pandemic. “
To ensure that vaccines arrive at the right place at the right time, along with the syringes, alcohol swabs and protective equipment needed to administer them, the government has summoned the army.
Brigadier Phil Prosser is leading the army’s response. He is the commander of the 101 Logistics Brigade, which normally delivers supplies to British forces in war zones.
“My team is used to the complexity and building of supply chains with speed in the most arduous and challenging conditions,” said Prosser during a briefing on Thursday. “In this case, the mission is to support the NHS in delivering the maximum amount of vaccine to minimize the number of infections and deaths as quickly and safely as possible.”
What is at stake could not be higher for Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government, which is fighting a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus that has spread across Britain, forcing it into a third national blockade.
The number of patients with COVID-19 in UK hospitals is already 50% higher than during the first peak of infections, and deaths reported on Friday reached 1,325 – the highest number since the start of the pandemic.
The rise in infection threatens to overwhelm hospitals, putting more pressure on doctors and nurses who are already tired after almost a year of the pandemic.
“We are hearing about people being treated in ambulances and parking outside the hospital because there is no room to bring people in,” said Dr. Tom Dolphin, anesthetist at the hospital and a spokesman for the British Medical Association council. “We are getting to the point where we are struggling to maintain basic standards in some hospitals.”
The government’s goal is to deliver the first doses of the vaccine to all people over the age of 70, as well as to frontline health professionals, home residents and anyone whose health makes them especially vulnerable to the virus, until mid next month. There are more than 15 million people.
Since Britain became the first country to start a mass vaccination program on December 8, the NHS has applied vaccines to nearly 1.5 million weapons.
He plans to offer vaccines in hundreds of GP practices and community pharmacies. There will also be seven mass vaccination centers in convention centers and sports stadiums, in addition to 223 hospitals.
“This is a national challenge on a scale like nothing we’ve seen before and will require an unprecedented national effort,” said Johnson.
But can the NHS deliver an average of more than 2 million injections per week for the next six weeks?
“My opinion is that the vaccine schedule is realistic, but not easy,” said Chris Whitty, England’s medical director, on Tuesday.
The UK recorded almost 80,000 COVID-19-related deaths, the most deadly outbreak in Europe and the fifth largest in the world. The pandemic prevented families from reuniting, left 819,000 people unemployed and devastated businesses forced to close by restrictions designed to control the spread.
Although the government has agreed to buy vaccines from seven different producers, UK regulators have so far only authorized the use of those made by Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna.
Britain is entitled to purchase up to 140 million doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca injections, just enough to give its 67 million residents the two required doses. The 17 million doses of Moderna will not arrive until spring.
But supplies are not guaranteed due to global demand and also the challenges of producing, testing and delivering vaccines.
To stretch limited supplies, Britain has already taken the controversial step of postponing the second dose of the vaccine for up to three months, so that it can give the first dose to as many people as possible.
While scaling up the vaccination program is complicated, the NHS structure is likely to help you succeed, said Siva Anandaciva, chief policy analyst at King’s Fund, a study group focused on improving health care in England.
“Primary care is the cavalry to help deliver the vaccine,” said Anandaciva. “The primary care workforce is the key to this next phase.”
But those forces have already been stretched by the pandemic and everyone on the NHS is tired. Even so, GPs will be invited to work harder.
“They are extending the expedient to ensure that as many people as possible get the vaccine,” said Anandaciva. “So it will be a long, hard work in the coming months.”
But it is a bright spot in a dark moment. David Halley, 83, was delighted to receive his vaccine at his local GP this week.
“I don’t want to be sick and I have family and grandchildren and so on, so it’s important,” he said. “I thought … Is it fair for me to go? And then I thought, well, if not, then I’m going to occupy a bed in the intensive care unit that someone else might be using and that would be a waste of time and oxygen. Therefore, it is better to do this. “
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